Frame capture from the Hockey Day in America special broadcast of the National Hockey League on U.S. free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network NBC on February 16, 2020 announcing the talent lineup for the International Women’s Day special broadcast of the NHL on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 7pm Eastern Time. 37-year-old Oakland, California-based multi-sport play-by-play announcer Kate Scott, who has no prior experience with calling ice hockey play-by-play commentary at any level, was NBC Sports President of Production/Executive Producer Sam Flood‘s surprise choice to call play-by-play commentary. AJ Mleczko will be in the broadcast booth with Kate Scott. Kendall Coyne Schofield will be the ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst. Canadian Jennifer Botterill will be the studio analyst, joining host Kathryn Tappen. An all-female production team, led by Producer Rene Hatlelid and Director Lisa Seltzer will produce the telecast. Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
By Oliver Tse
Email: workingnow88@workingnow88.com
Twitter: @workingnow88
Originally Published on October 13, 2019. Updated with extensive revisions on February 16 and 17, 2020 and correction on March 28, 2020.
[Note: Please refer to Part I for the history of all-female broadcast teams to call major men’s professional team sports contests for television audiences in North America, including the French-language National Hockey League (NHL) broadcast on March 7, 2008, Amazon Prime Video’s alternative all-female Internet streaming video broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) Thursday Night Football, and various professional soccer matches including the Final Match of FIFA Men’s World Cup Russia 2018.]
Join us for hockey history this Sunday!@NHLonNBCSports will utilize an all-female crew to broadcast and produce game coverage of @StLouisBlues vs. @NHLBlackhawks on @NBCSN in honor of #InternationalWomensDay, the 1st NHL game broadcast & produced solely by women in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/3dNkllHOX4
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) March 5, 2020
This Sunday March 8, join us at 7pmET! I’m proud to be part of an All-Female crew to broadcast and produce @NBCSports coverage of the Stanley Cup Champ @StLouisBlues – @NHLBlackhawks game in honor of International Women’s Day!!! The studio, the truck, the faces- ALL WOMEN!!! ⭐️🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/q1OF8904bS
— Kathryn Tappen (@KathrynTappen) March 5, 2020
Sportscaster Kate Scott, a member of the Class of 2005 at the University of California at Berkeley, appeared in this short promotional video “How to Respond to People Who Say You Can’t” for the California Alumni Association in 2017. Courtesy California Alumni Association.
“One of my favorite things is when people tell me I can’t, or you shouldn’t, or you won’t…I just pause, let them finish, and I look them in the eye and I say: WATCH ME!” – Kate Scott
CHICAGO – Because the National Hockey League (NHL) has designated March as Gender Equality Month,
…not only should one expect Rogers Sportsnet in Canada to consider reviving the idea (from Canadian French-Language all-sports pay TV network RDS in 2008) of an all-female broadcast team for Rogers Hometown Hockey on International Women’s Day, Sunday, March 8, 2020, one should also expect NBC Sports Group in the U.S. to seriously consider the idea as well for the first game of its Star Sunday NHL doubleheader on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN (formerly NBC Sports Network.)
How does an outsider like me with no sources inside NBC Sports Group able to figure this out?
The biggest “tell” from NBC Sports Group Executive Producer and President of Production Sam Flood was from the NHL on NBC Live pre-game show on NBCSN on Friday, May 3, 2019, after host Kathryn Tappen, game analyst Kendall Coyne Schofield and game analyst AJ Mleczko completed their discussion regarding the decision by 200 professional women’s ice hockey players (led by Coyne Schofield among others) to boycott the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) during the 2019-2020 season because the low salaries offered by the NWHL do NOT cover most players’ living expenses.
Before the TV commercial break, Flood instructed his production crew at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina to prepare multiple camera shots of girls and young women who were attending the Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders game to be shown to the viewers.
From left to right: host Kathryn Tappen (in studio at NBC Sports Group headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut), game analyst Kendall Coyne Schofield (at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri), and game analyst AJ Mleczko (at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina) during the NHL on NBC Live pre-game show which aired on U.S. all-sports pay-TV network NBCSN on Friday, May 3, 2019. Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
Prior to releasing its 2019-2020 season schedule this past June, the NHL consulted with Rogers Sportsnet and NBC Sports Group executives to determine which teams they want to be involved for early evening prime time (7pm Eastern Time on Rogers Sportsnet, 7:30pm Eastern Time on NBCSN) live broadcasts on March 8, 2020.
The two teams that must play on the road that day due to arena availability, Vegas Golden Knights (because T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will host an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on March 7 and the PAC-12 Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 11-14) and defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues (because Enterprise Center in St. Louis will host the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 5-8), were selected by Rogers Sportsnet and NBC Sports Group respectively.
As I have already explained in Part I, Rogers Sportsnet chose the Calgary Flames as the home team for its Rogers Hometown Hockey game broadcast, presumably because Rogers Media Vice President of Sportsnet and NHL Production Rob Corte is 100% certain he wants to assign Calgary-based game analyst Cassie Campbell-Pascall to the broadcast.
As for NBC Sports Group, Flood chose the Chicago Blackhawks as the home team for the first game of NBCSN’s Star Sunday doubleheader.
Why?
Perhaps because the most likely female candidate for one of the game analyst positions, as well as a young female NHL regional broadcaster with significant name recognition whom one would expect to seriously consider switching from game analyst to play-by-play announcer sometime during her career, have significant ties to the Chicago area.
However, Flood does have a big problem:
Will he be able to find female broadcasters for all 3 on-camera broadcast positions (play-by-play announcer, booth-level game analyst, and ice-level “Inside the Glass” game analyst who also perform the duties of a traditional rinkside reporter) whom NBC Sports Group can trust to broadcast an NHL game to the highest standards?
In my opinion, these broadcasters will need to be good enough to call NHL for not just one game each year, but to call at least one playoff series each season.
If Flood were not able to put together an all-female broadcast team, is there still enough Return On Investment (ROI) for Flood to assign a mix-gender team instead of his #1 all-male NHL on NBC team of play-by-play announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick, booth-level game analyst Ed Olczyk (who lives in Chicago) and ice-level “Insider the Glass” game analyst Brian Boucher?
My opinion: in order for Flood to get enough ROI (i.e. 10 times the incremental production cost), the on-camera broadcast team for the Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues game will have to be all-female. Why? Because a mix-gender broadcast team for NHL (which tend to draw niche regional television audiences in the U.S.) will NOT generate enough (if any) publicity value to justify its deployment in lieu of the primary broadcast team of Emrick, Olczyk and Boucher.
However, an all-female broadcast team, especially the first ever all female broadcast team to call an NHL game on site from an arena in the U.S. on an U.S. English-language linear television network, will generate more than enough publicity value to justify its deployment in lieu of the primary all-male broadcast team.
Before I evaluate the available female candidates for the play-by-play announcer position, I will review the accomplishments of the two female game analyst candidates for the broadcast.
Game analyst candidate #1: Kendall Coyne Schofield
2018 U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist and NHL on NBC television analyst Kendall Coyne Schofield is featured in this “On Her Turf Presents: Hockey is for Her” video, which was shot at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, May 3, 2019. Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
When injured Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon had to withdraw from the Fastest Skater competition during the NHL All-Star Skills event at SAP Center in San José, California on Friday, January 25, 2019, the organizers of the event had a novel idea for a replacement competitor who was 100% guaranteed to energize the audience in the arena and on television.
The organizers replaced MacKinnon with “Pocket Dynamo”:
1952 bantamweight freestyle wrestling Olympic Bronze Medalist Khashaba Dadasaheb “K. D.” Jadhav (IND), nicknamed “Pocket Dynamo”, was the first citizen of the independent Republic of India to earn a medal in an individual Olympic event. Courtesy ntdin.tv.
…uh, not that “Pocket Dynamo”…
From left to right: 2-year-old thoroughbred horses Shang Shang Shang, Pocket Dynamo and Land Force raced to a photo finish at the Norfolk Stakes 5-furlong turf race during Royal Ascot 2018 at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England, United Kingdom on Thursday, June 18, 2018. Race commentator: Richard Hoiles (ENG). Courtesy Ascot Racecourse Limited/ITV/NBC Sports Group.
…or that “Pocket Dynamo”.
The organizers of 2019 NHL All-Star Skills gave the opportunity to compete in the Fastest Skater competition to THIS Pocket Dynamo (TM):
2018 U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield competed in the Fastest Skater competition during NHL All-Star Skills at SAP Center in San José, California on Friday, January 25, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN with simulcast on Canadian all-sports pay TV network Rogers Sportsnet. Play-by-play announcer: Kenny Albert (USA). Analyst: Keith Jones (CAN). Rinkside reporter: Pierre McGuire (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
27-year-old 2018 U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist and 6-time International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) world champion Kendall Coyne Schofield (Height: 5′ 2″/1.57 m) posted a time of 14.346 seconds to finish in 7th place out of 8, ahead of Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller (14.526 seconds).
NBC Sports Group President of Production and Executive Producer Sam Flood, who noticed the reaction of the audience in the arena and on social media, offered Kendall Coyne Schofield, who graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies and had experience as a rinkside reporter during men’s college ice hockey games, the opportunity to join NBC Sports Group as an NHL on NBC analyst. She accepted Flood’s offer and she was assigned to the Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday Night Hockey broadcast on NBCSN on January 30 as a contributing analyst at both ice-level and booth-level:
Kendall Coyne Schofield made her debut as a National Hockey League (NHL) television contributing analyst during the Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning game at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: John Forslund (USA). Booth-level analyst: Ed Olczyk (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Pierre McGuire (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
Coyne Schofield’s first assignment as booth-level game analyst would take place during NHL “Gender Equality Month”, as Flood would assign her to call the Edmonton Oilers vs New Jersey Devils game on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
Highlights from the Wednesday Night Hockey telecast of the Edmonton Oilers vs New Jersey Devils National Hockey League (NHL) game at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Chris Cuthbert (CAN). Booth-level analyst: Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Ray Ferraro (CAN). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
After winning the 2019 National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) Isobel Cup as a member of the Minnesota Whitecaps on Sunday, March 17,
Kendall Coyne Schofield of the Minnesota Whitecaps in action against the Buffalo Beauts during the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) Isobel Cup championship game at Tria Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday, March 17, 2019. Photo credit: Lorie Shaull/Wikipedia.
…and her 6th International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team on Sunday, April 14,
Kendall Coyne Schofield of the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey team in action during the Switzerland vs USA preliminary round match of 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s World Championship at Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland on Sunday, April 7, 2019. Photo Credit: André Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images.
…Kendall Coyne Schofield would return to the television broadcast booth as a game analyst during the 2nd round of the NHL Playoffs, when she filled in for AJ Mleczko during Games 4 and 5 of the St. Louis Blues vs Dallas Stars series on Wednesday, May 1 and Friday, May 3, 2019. Flood had reassigned Mleczko to Games 3 and 4 of the Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders series to cover for Ed Olczyk, who was on assignment for NBC Sports Group at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky as a horse racing handicapper during the Kentucky Derby telecasts on May 3-4.
The first goal from Game 4 of Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues National Hockey League (NHL) 2nd round playoff series at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Kenny Albert (USA). Booth-level analyst: Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Pierre McGuire (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
San José Sharks Vice President of Communications Scott Emmert invited Coyne Schofield to return to SAP Center on Saturday, May 4, 2019 for Game 5 of the Sharks vs Colorado Avalanche 2nd round NHL Playoffs series, not only as the guest studio analyst during the pre-game and post-game shows broadcast on San Francisco-based regional sports network NBC Sports California,
From left to right: host Brodie Brazil (USA), guest studio analyst Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA), studio analysts Curtis Brown (CAN) and Devin Setoguchi (CAN) during the Sharks Playoff Live post-game show outside SAP Center in San José, California on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Originally aired on U.S. regional sports network NBC Sports California. Courtesy NHL/San José Sharks/NBC Sports Group.
…but also as the celebrity “locker room door opener” for the Sharks before the game.
Emmert announced on September 5 that he had hired Kendall Coyne Schofield as a booth-level game analyst on selected regional telecasts of Sharks games on NBC Sports California during the 2019-2020 NHL Season.
“We are ecstatic to have Kendall join our Sharks broadcasting team. As one of hockey’s most decorated players, she will bring unique insight and perspective to our broadcasts, which will complement the work of our existing color analysts. Kendall already has a special relationship with the City of San José and Sharks fans following her wonderful performance at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game and we look forward to making new memories with her this season.” – San José Sharks Vice President of Communications Scott Emmert
San José Sharks radio analyst Bret Hedican (left) and regional television game analyst Jamie Baker (right) welcomed Kendall Coyne Schofield (middle) to the Sharks broadcast team after the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) played an exhibition game against the San José Sharks Alumni team at SAP Center in San José, California on Sunday, September 22, 2019. Courtesy San José Sharks.
She would make her debut with the Sharks broadcast team on October 10 to call the Chicago Blackhawks vs San José Sharks game at United Center in Chicago.
From left to right: play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn (CAN), booth-level game analysts Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA) and Jamie Baker (CAN) during the second intermission of the Chicago Blackhawks vs San José Sharks NHL game at United Center in Chicago on Thursday, October 10, 2019. Video clip also contains the analyses by Coyne Schofield and Baker on the winning goal scored by Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow (CAN). Originally aired on U.S. regional sports network NBC Sports California. Courtesy NHL/San José Sharks/NBC Sports Group.
Having reviewed the video of Kendall Coyne Schofield’s work as booth-level analyst on October 10, I have noticed that she has improved significantly since May, as she and her colleague, San José Sharks game analyst Jamie Baker, were able to complement each other by adding additional information to the initial observation. She and Baker did not have nearly as many awkward moments of silence as she and NHL on NBC ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst Pierre McGuire did in May.
November 28, 2019 update: Kendall Coyne Schofield absolutely nailed it with her “They (the Sharks) bring the puck back so they can re-attack with speed” comment during the NBC Sports California broadcast of the overtime period of the Los Angeles Kings vs San José Sharks NHL game on November 25. Sharks forward Patrick Marleau scored seconds later:
San José Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (CAN) scored the game winning goal during overtime of the game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Monday, November 25, 2019. Play-by-play announcer: Randy Hahn (CAN). Booth-level game analysts: Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA) and Jamie Baker (CAN). Originally broadcast on U.S. regional sports network NBC Sports California. Courtesy NHL/San José Sharks/NBC Sports Group.
Kendall Coyne Schofield has significant ties to the Chicago area, as she and her husband, 28-year-old National Football League (NFL) Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Michael Schofield (who won Super Bowl 50 in February 2016 as a member of the Denver Broncos), both attended Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois. They first met in April 2014 when they were working out at a gym and they were married on Saturday, July 7, 2018.
Kendall Coyne Schofield (right) and her husband, NFL Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Michael Schofield, are featured in this NFL Films video released on November 9, 2018. Courtesy NFL Films via YouTube.
Coyne Schofield conducts multiple youth ice hockey camps in the Chicago area each summer, including the Golden Coynes ice hockey camp for girls each June in association with the Chicago Blackhawks.
When she isn’t winning gold medals, @KendallCoyne is helping grow the game of hockey in her home state! #GoldenCoynes pic.twitter.com/JexW6xTXaF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 5, 2019
February 4 update: On January 22, The Chicago Blackhawks released this long-form feature video “As Fast as Her” on Kendall Coyne Schofield with appearances by her parents John and Ahlise Coyne, her husband NFL Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Michael Schofield, 1998 U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist Cammy Granato, NBC Sports/Chicago Blackhawks NHL TV analyst Ed Olczyk, St. Louis Blues TV analyst Darren Pang, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Women’s Sports Foundation founder Billie Jean King and 2-time U.S. Women’s Soccer FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion/2-time Olympic Gold Medalist and current ESPN soccer TV analyst Julie Foudy (video courtesy NHL/Chicago Blackhawks):
“…My mission in this game (women’s ice hockey) is to leave this game better than it was…To see the growth in this game it shows that we (women) are worth something…Cammi (Granato) heard she wasn’t worth anything. I’ve heard that I wasn’t worth anything. And I think, I continue to fight and play this game so that these little girls aren’t told they are not worth anything.” – Kendall Coyne Schofield
“Kendall is unbelievable in how she thinks about the future generations. She’s always saying, ‘What we are going to do next now is for the future generations.’ That’s leadership. They don’t just think about themselves.” – Billie Jean King
Game analyst candidate #2: AJ Mleczko
National Hockey League (NHL) television analyst AJ Mleczko (middle) with her sons Sam (left) and Oliver (right) in front of the “Griswold Bus”, a custom school bus that has been converted by Mleczko and her husband Jason Griswold into a recreational vehicle (RV), prior to the New York Islanders vs Arizona Coyotes NHL regular season game at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Sunday, March 24, 2019. Courtesy New York Islanders via Twitter.
45-year-old 1998 U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist Allison Jaime “AJ” Mleczko has worked for NBC Sports Group as a freelance sportscaster since 2006, when she was assigned to the broadcast booth as a game analyst of Olympic women’s ice hockey games during Torino 2006.
Her television assignments at NBC Sports Group would expand to include game analysis of Men’s College Ice Hockey (on NBCSN during the 2014-2015 season) and both Men’s and Women’s Olympic Field Hockey during Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Prior to the Canada vs USA women’s ice hockey Olympic Gold Medal Game during PyeongCheng 2018 at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Republic of Korea on February 22, 2018,
The shootout from the Canada vs USA Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Gold Medal Game during PyeongCheng 2018 at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Republic of Korea on February 22, 2018. Originally broadcast on U.S. free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network NBC. Play-by-play announcer: Kenny Albert (USA). Booth-level analyst: AJ Mleczko (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Pierre McGuire (USA). Courtesy International Olympic Committee (IOC)/NBC Sports Group.
…Flood offered Mleczko the opportunity to be the first American woman to call an NHL game on a linear U.S. television network as a booth-level game analyst during NHL “Gender Equality Month”.
Mleczko, who lives with her husband Jason Griswold and their 4 children in the Boston suburb of Concord, Massachusetts, accepted Flood’s offer. She made her NHL on NBC broadcast debut on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at TD Garden in Boston to call the Boston Bruins vs Detroit Red Wings game for broadcast on NBCSN.
Opening segment and the overtime period of the Boston Bruins vs Detroit Red Wings National Hockey League (NHL) game at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Chris Cuthbert (CAN). Booth-level analyst: AJ Mleczko (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Brian Boucher (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
Flood would assign Mleczko an NHL regular season game each week for the remainder of the 2017-2018 season,
Pre-game segment, opening segment and highlights of the St. Louis Blues vs Boston Bruins National Hockey League (NHL) regular season game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Mike “Doc” Emrick (USA). Booth-level analyst: AJ Mleczko (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Pierre McGuire (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
…selected games of the Nashville Predators vs Colorado Avalanche first round playoff series,
Highlights from Game 1 of the Nashville Predators vs Colorado Avalanche National Hockey League (NHL) first round playoff series at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday, April 12, 2018. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Kenny Albert (USA). Booth-level analyst: AJ Mleczko (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Brian Boucher (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
…and Games 1-6 of the Nashville Predators vs Winnipeg Jets second round playoff series.
Highlights from Game 6 of the Nashville Predators vs Winnipeg Jets National Hockey League (NHL) second round playoff series at Bell MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on Monday, May 7, 2018. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Chris Cuthbert (CAN). Booth-level analyst: AJ Mleczko (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: Brian Boucher (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
As a result, Mleczko became the first woman, regardless of nationality or language, to work as a television game analyst during an NHL playoff game.
(Note: Rogers Sportsnet in Canada would not assign game analyst Cassie Campbell-Pascall, who called her first NHL regular season game for Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television on Saturday, October 14, 2006, to an NHL playoff game until Thursday, April 11, 2019, when Rogers Media Vice President of Sportsnet and NHL Production Rob Corte assigned her to call the entire Calgary Flames vs Colorado Avalanche first round playoff series.)
Beginning with the 2018-2019 season, Flood would assign Mleczko to the ice-level “Inside the Glass” game analyst position during NHL regular season game broadcasts on NBCSN, mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The “Inside the Glass” position requires the analyst to perform both the duties of a game analyst and the duties of a traditional rinkside reporter by conducting interviews with players, coaches, and celebrity guests.
Country music singer Keith Urban (left) appeared as guest at the ice-level “Inside the Glass” game analyst broadcast position during the second period of the Nashville Predators vs Minnesota Wild National Hockey League (NHL) regular season game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday, October 3, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN. Play-by-play announcer: Chris Cuthbert (CAN). Booth-level analyst: Mike Milbury (USA). Ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst: AJ Mleczko (USA). Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
Also beginning with the 2018-2019 NHL season, New York Islanders owners Jonathan Ledecky and Scott Malkin, both of whom earned multiple degrees from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, would hire Mleczko, who earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in American History from Harvard in 1999, as an ice-level “Inside the Glass” analyst and studio analyst for regional telecasts of approximately 20 New York Islanders games each season on New York-based regional sports network MSG+.
Video frame capture of New York Islanders ice-level “Inside the Glass” game analyst AJ Mleczko during the first period of the New York Islanders vs Washington Capitals NHL regular season game at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Friday, October 4, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. regional sports network MSG+. Courtesy NHL/New York Islanders/MSG Networks.
Mleczko would work mostly during Islanders home games at either Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York or Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
For the Sunday, March 24, 2019 telecast of the New York Islanders vs the Arizona Coyotes NHL game on MSG+, Mleczko would take the “bring your children to work” concept to a whole new level.
Mleczko and her family would travel to Nassau Coliseum in a custom school bus that has been converted into a recreational vehicle (RV), with enough living space for 6 people and enough seats to transport a youth sports team of up to 18 players to weekend tournaments.
Islanders Game Night studio analyst AJ Mleczko (left) and host Shannon Hogan (right) toured the “Griswold Bus”, a custom school bus that has been converted by Mleczko and her husband Jason Griswold into a recreational vehicle (RV), prior to the New York Islanders vs Arizona Coyotes NHL regular season game at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Sunday, March 24, 2019. Originally broadcast on U.S. regional sports network MSG+. Courtesy NHL/New York Islanders/MSG Networks.
When New York Islanders studio host Shannon Hogan was unavailable to host Islanders away games in March-April 2019 because she was in the late stages of her pregnancy, the Islanders brought in Mleczko’s Harvard women’s ice hockey teammate, Toronto-based 3-time Canadian women’s ice hockey Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Botterill, to fill in for Hogan. Harvard won its only American Women’s College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) Division I national championship in March 1999, when Botterill put away Mleczko’s centering pass to score the winning goal in overtime against the University of New Hampshire. [Note: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) did not organize its first Division I women’s ice hockey tournament until March 2001.]
Islanders Game Night studio analysts AJ Mleczko (#11) and Jennifer Botterill (#7) were in studio at Bell Centre in Montréal, Quebec, Canada prior to the Montréal Canadiens vs New York Islanders NHL regular season game on Thursday, March 21, 2019 to review the video of Harvard University’s winning goal against the University of New Hampshire during overtime of 1999 AWCHA Division I Women’s college hockey national championship game. Originally broadcast on U.S. regional sports network MSG+. Courtesy NHL/New York Islanders/MSG Networks.
During the 2nd intermission of the NHL on NBCSN broadcast on March 4, 2020, host Liam McHugh (left) discussed the upcoming all-female NHL on NBCSN broadcast scheduled for March 8 with NHL on NBC game analyst and 1988 Winter Olympic Gold Medalist US Women’s National Ice Hockey Team member AJ Mleczko. Courtesy NHL/NBC Sports Group.
Who are the female play-by-play announcer candidates?
There are over a dozen female sportscasters in the U.S. with experience calling men’s or women’s ice hockey on television, radio, or Internet video streaming, but only a handful of them have experience calling ice hockey play-by-play.
In my opinion, NBC Sports President of Production and Executive Producer Sam Flood is highly unlikely to consider any sportscaster who:
1. Has a Canadian passport instead of a U.S. Passport. That would eliminate Montreal-based Bell Media radio personality/former play-by-play voice of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) club Les Canadiennes de Montréal Robyn Flynn and current The Sports Network (TSN) host/anchor Tessa Bonhomme who hosted Olympic women’s ice hockey coverage on NBCSN during PyeongChang 2018. Former Rogers Sportsnet and New England Sports Network (NESN) host/reporter Leah Hextall is also NOT likely to be considered by Flood despite her name recognition because her ice hockey television play-by-play work during the past 2 years had been substandard (as I have discussed in Part I). Note that anyone currently employed by Rogers Media in Canada such as former CWHL Calgary Inferno play-by-play announcer Sandra Prusina is also unlikely to be available to NBC Sports Group as Rogers Media will likely enforce its exclusivity agreement for its on-air talent.
2. Has professional experience as a men’s ice hockey game analyst at the regional sports television network level but does not have significant name recognition beyond their region for Flood to devote NBC Sports Group resources to assist them to switch to play-by-play announcing. That would exclude Providence College Men’s college ice hockey on NBC Sports Boston game analyst Sonny Watrous (who has a full time job as a health insurance executive) and NHL Minnesota Wild regional television analyst Krissy Wendell among others.
3. Has not called ice hockey play-by-play regularly at any level for the past 4 years. That would exclude Florida-based freelance sportscaster Leah Secondo, who called television play-by-play of the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four with AJ Mleczko and the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four by herself for NCAA Productions, and former NHL New Jersey Devils radio analyst Sherry Ross, who filled in as radio play-by-play announcer several times during her sportscasting career before she was let go by the Devils in May 2017.
Also in my opinion, 34-year-old Minnesota-based WCCO-AM 830 news radio anchor and freelance sportscaster Sloane Martin, who has experience calling Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) boys and girls ice hockey tournament games each March on free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television station KSTC-DT 45.1 in St. Paul, Minnesota,
Play-by-play announcer Sloane Martin prior to the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class A Boys Ice Hockey tournament quarterfinal games at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, March 6, 2019; Photo credit: John Millea/MSHSL.
…is unlikely to be considered by Flood at this time because her limited ice hockey play-by-play work is nowhere near good enough to call ice hockey play-by-play beyond the high school level. Specifically, Martin has issues with keeping track of the action. Furthermore, some of Martin’s calls of goals and saves are underwhelming and lack the necessary emotion to connect with viewers. Highlights video from 2 MSHSL boys’ quarterfinal games called by Martin on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 are below:
Highlights of the 2019 Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class A Boys Ice Hockey tournament quarterfinal game between St. Cloud Cathedral High School and North Branch High School at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Play-by-play announcer: Sloane Martin. Analyst: Mark Parrish. Courtesy MSHSL/KSTC-DT.
Highlights of the 2019 Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class A Boys Ice Hockey tournament quarterfinal game between East Grand Forks High School and Minnesota River High School at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Play-by-play announcer: Sloane Martin. Analyst: Mark Parrish. Courtesy MSHSL/KSTC-DT.
That would leave Flood with only two serious female NHL television play-by-play candidates: one play-by-play announcer with 12 years of ice hockey play-by-play experience (on Internet streaming video and radio) but very little name recognition beyond her region, and one NHL regional radio analyst with significant name recognition among NHL consumers throughout the U.S. and Canada but no paid professional ice hockey play-by-play experience on any medium at any level.
Will NBC Sports Group devote resources to evaluate veteran ice hockey play-by-play announcer Kelly Schultz?
Veteran ice hockey play-by-play announcer Kelly Schultz posed for this photo with the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) Isobel Cup prior to the Minnesota Whitecaps vs Buffalo Beauts championship game at Tria Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday, March 17, 2019. Courtesy Kelly Schultz via Twitter.
Despite having 12 years of men’s and women’s ice hockey play-by-play experience at the NCAA Division I level, Kelly Schultz, who has been the play-by-play voice of Bemidji State University women’s ice hockey since 2007,
2016-2017 Bemidji State University women’s ice hockey highlights video. Play-by-play announcer: Kelly Schultz. Courtesy Kelly Schultz via YouTube.
… as well as the current play-by-play voice of the NWHL Minnesota Whitecaps, has limited name recognition among NHL consumers outside the state of Minnesota.
(Note: Kelly Schultz filled in for her husband Brian Schultz to call 2 Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey games at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan on October 30-31, 2015. A scheduling conflict required Brian Schultz to travel to Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota to broadcast an American College Football game. Her goal calls from the Northern Michigan vs Bemidji State men’s ice hockey game on Saturday, October 31, 2015 are archived at beaverradionetwork.com)
For those of us who are aware of Kelly Schultz’s play-by-play work, including her call of the 2019 NWHL Isobel Cup championship game, we respect everything Schultz has done as a play-by-play announcer during the past 12 years.
Highlights from the Minnesota Whitecaps vs Buffalo Beauts National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) Isobel Cup championship game at Tria Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday, March 24, 2019. Play-by-play announcer: Kelly Schultz. Analyst: Alexis Pearson. Courtesy NWHL.
However, we do NOT know yet whether Kelly Schultz will be able to make the successful jump from NWHL to NHL, as the gap is huge. The NHL is much faster and much more physical then women’s ice hockey (which does NOT permit violent bodychecking), and the vantage points for play-by-play announcers at large NHL arenas are much higher and further away than the vantage points for play-by-play announcers at smaller Division I college ice hockey arenas and the tiny practice rinks used by the NWHL.
The Minnesota Whitecaps of the NWHL hosted the Boston Pride at Tria Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday, January 25, 2020. Play-by-play announcer: Kelly Schultz. Analyst: Alexis Pearson. Courtesy NWHL.
Is NBC Sports Group, namely President of Production and Executive Producer Sam Flood, willing to devote resources to evaluate Kelly Schultz as an NHL play-by-play announcer candidate?
In my opinion, NOT YET.
Why not?
Because I believe Kelly Schultz is at best Flood’s “Plan B”, as I believe Flood has in his mind a young sportscaster with much bigger name recognition and star power as his first choice to call NHL play-by-play on the 2020 International Women’s Day edition of Star Sunday on NBCSN.
Is Tampa Bay Lightning radio analyst Caley Chelios ready to switch to play-by-play?
NHL Tampa Bay Lightning radio analyst and digital video host/reporter Caley Chelios at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on February 9, 2019. Courtesy Caley Chelios via Instagram.
26-year-old Caley Chelios, daughter of 3-time Stanley Cup Champion and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Chris Chelios, is a Chicago native and a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She was hired by NHL club Tampa Bay Lightning in June 2016 as a rinkside reporter and digital video host.
NHL Tampa Bay Lightning reporter Caley Chelios (right) interviewed her father, Detroit Red Wings assistant coach and 3-time Stanley Cup champion Chris Chelios at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on March 30, 2017. Courtesy NHL/Tampa Bay Lightning.
Chelios assumed the radio game analyst role for selected away games during the 2018-2019 season, partnering in the broadcast booth with radio play-by-play announcer Dave Mishkin.
NHL Tampa Bay Lightning radio play-by-play announcer Dave Mishkin (left) and analyst Caley Chelios in the broadcast booth prior to the Edmonton Oilers vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL regular season game at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Saturday, December 22, 2018. Courtesy Caley Chelios via Instagram.
Chelios’ radio analysis duties for the Lightning during the 2019-2020 NHL season have expanded to include all away games and selected home games when 77-year-old radio analyst Phil Esposito is not available.
Reporter Christine Simpson (CAN) interviewed NHL Tampa Bay Lightning radio analyst Caley Chelios (USA) during second intermission of the Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL game from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. Originally aired on Canadian English-language regional sports network Rogers Sportsnet Ontario on Monday, March 11, 2019. Courtesy National Hockey League (NHL)/Rogers Media.
So how big are Caley Chelios’ name recognition and star power?
Chelios’ name recognition and star power are big enough for People magazine to assign a reporter to cover Chelios’ wedding in Chicago on Saturday, July 13, 2019 to NFL Green Bay Packers running back Danny Vitale. The couple met while they were both students at Northwestern University.
NHL Tampa Bay Lightning radio analyst Caley Chelios (left) and NFL Green Bay Packers running back Danny Vitale at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago on their wedding day, Saturday, July 13, 2019. Courtesy Caley Chelios via Instagram.
Among the celebrity guests invited by Chelios and Vitale to their wedding include former supermodel Cindy Crawford, actor John Cusack and singer Kid Rock.
Everything associated with Caley Chelios seems to be bigger than life:
- Big name
- Big wedding
- Big husband
- Big dog
Caley Chelios (left) and Danny Vitale with their dog, a 1-year-old Yellow Labrador Retriever named “Billy”, on March 30, 2019. Courtesy Caley Chelios via Instagram.
But if you were NBC Sports Group President of Production and Executive Producer Sam Flood, you will need answers to the following questions as soon as possible:
1. Does Caley Chelios want to switch to ice hockey play-by-play NOW, when the window is open for her to take a shot at the play-by-play position for the Star Sunday Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues telecast on NBCSN from United Center in Chicago on International Women’s Day, Sunday, March 8, 2020?
2. If so, how hard is she willing to work so that her play-by-play will be good enough to not only call 1 NHL game each season, but to call multiple games including at least one playoff series each season?
An audio clip of Caley Chelios’ radio analysis work at the end of the 2018-2019 NHL season was synchronized to video:
Excerpts from the radio broadcast of the Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL regular season game at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday, April 6, 2019. Play-by-play announcer: Dave Mishkin (USA). Analyst: Caley Chelios (USA). Courtesy NHL/Tampa Bay Lightning.
From the clip, we can observe that Chelios is able to keep track of the fast-paced action as a radio analyst.
Will she be able to keep track of the action as a play-by-play announcer, and will she sound smooth and confident while doing so? We don’t know yet.
We do know that Chelios has at least 2 mentors, Tampa Bay Lightning radio play-by-play announcer Dave Mishkin and regional television play-by-play announcer Rick Peckham (who announced in September that he will retire after the 2019-2020 NHL season). Presumably, Mishkin and Peckham have shared their advice and expertise with Chelios if she has indeed decided that she will attempt to switch to play-by-play announcing now.
“I think it’s time.”
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 9, 2019
In his own words, Rick Peckham will sign off for the final time following our 2019-20 #Bolts season.https://t.co/JHL0PIEkCC
Also, 7 weeks of Caley Chelios’ calendar in April-June 2019 unexpectedly opened up when the Tampa Bay Lightning, which had the #1 overall seed for the 2019 NHL Playoffs after winnng a record 62 games during the 2018-2019 NHL regular season, ran into goaltender Sergei “Brick Wall Bob” Bobrovsky and were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets 4 games to none during the first round of the playoffs. Did Chelios use those unexpected 7 extra weeks of downtime during the spring to work on her play-by-play skills?
Sergei “Brick Wall Bob” Bobrovsky tribute t-shirt. Courtesy National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA)/Amazon.
Many high-profile sports television play-by-play announcers who were former athletes began their broadcast careers as analysts before switching to play-by-play.
Legendary CBS Sports and FOX Sports (U.S.) television play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall began his broadcasting career as a game analyst after he retired from the NFL as a kicker for the New York Giants before he switched. San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball regional television and radio play-by-play announcer Duane Kuiper is another example of a former athlete who switched from analyst to play-by-play.
More recently, former college student-athletes turned sportscasters Jenn Hildreth (who switched in 2012 and has transformed herself from a mediocre analyst to a respected play-by-play announcer) and Poppy Miller (who switched in 2018 at age 23, only 1 year after she began her first job as a professional broadcaster out of college) made the successful switch from analyst to play-by-play announcer and have not looked back.
Caley Chelios knows that her path to NHL TV broadcast assignments as an analyst at the national network level is likely blocked by former NHL players and coaches, as well as U.S. women’s national ice hockey team members with Olympic and IIHF Women’s World Championship Gold Medals. Play-by-play might be her ONLY path to the broadcast booth for a nationally-televised NHL game broadcast.
Watching how everything will play out between now and International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, 2020 will be fascinating.
October 14, 2019 update: another potential mentor for Caley Chelios is retired WFLA-TV 8/WFLA-DT 8.1 Tampa “News Channel 8” sports reporter/news anchor Gayle Sierens, who was the first woman to call television play-by-play commentary of an NFL game when then NBC Sports executive producer Michael Weisman assigned her to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri (with former NFL defensive lineman Dave Rowe as game analyst) to call play-by-play of the Kansas City Chiefs vs Seattle Seahawks game for regional broadcast on selected NBC broadcast stations on Sunday, December 27, 1987. Sierens, who retired on May 20, 2015 after spending 38-years at WFLA-TV/WFLA-DT, continues to live in Tampa because her husband, former NFL linebacker Mike Martin, is the owner of Tampa-based bakery Mike’s Pies. One would also reasonably expect NBC Sports Group to invite Sierens to appear as guest of NHL on NBC Star Sunday on International Women’s Day, Sunday, March 8, 2020.
WFLA-TV 8/WLFA-DT 8.1 “News Channel 8” Tampa, Florida television news anchor Gayle Sierens (who retired in May 2015 after 38 years with the station) appeared in the studio of NBC Sports in New York City as guest of the NFL Live pre-game show on U.S. free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network NBC on Sunday, September 11, 1988 with host Len Berman and legendary play-by-play announcer Lindsay Nelson. Sierens was the first woman to call television play-by-play commentary of a National Football League (NFL) game when she called Kansas City Chiefs vs Seattle Seahawks game for regional broadcast on selected U.S. free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television stations affiliated with the NBC broadcast network on Sunday, December 27, 1987. Courtesy NFL/NBC Sports Group.
WFLA-DT 8.1 “News Channel 8” Tampa, Florida television news anchor Keith Cate presented this tribute to news anchor Gayle Sierens during her final 6pm newscast on May 20, 2015. Sierens retired after spending 38 years at the TV station, first as a sports anchor/reporter before she was promoted in October 1985 to anchor of the weekday 6pm newscast. Courtesy WFLA-DT/Nexstar Media Group.
WFLA-TV 8/WLFA-DT 8.1 “News Channel 8” Tampa, Florida television news anchor Gayle Sierens was honored as the 45th “Lightning Community Hero” of the 2014-2015 NHL season during the first period of Game 7 of the Tampa Bay Lightning vs Detroit Red Wings NHL Playoffs series at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on April 29, 2015. Courtesy NHL/Tampa Bay Lightning.
February 4, 2020 Update (with correction on February 16, 2020): Caley Chelios announced via Twitter and Instagram on January 31 that she had decided to cut back on all road trips after the San José Sharks vs Tampa Bay Lightning game on February 1. She expects to give birth to her first daughter in early April. As a result, NBC Sports Group is down to only one viable female play-by-play announcer candidate with ice hockey play-by-play experience in Kelly Schultz if NBC Sports Group President of Production Sam Flood were to proceed with the all-female television broadcast team idea for the Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues NHL game on NBCSN on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 7:30pm Eastern/6:30pm Central.
🤰🏼💕 Excited to welcome a baby girl with my husband this April! With that said, these two road games will be my last on the call for the rest of the regular season, as I can’t travel for the remainder of my pregnancy. Hope to be back ASAP! pic.twitter.com/dritZnfaaq
— Caley Chelios (@CaleyChelios) January 31, 2020
February 16/17, 2020 Update #1:
In a press release issued by NBC Sports Group on Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 5:30pm Eastern Time and announced during the Hockey Day in America broadcast on U.S. free-to-air-terrestrial broadcast television network NBC, NBC Sports Group President of Production Sam Flood unexpectedly selected 37-year-old multi-sport play-by-play announcer Kate Scott of Oakland, California to call play-by-play commentary of the Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues NHL game on NBCSN on Sunday, March 8, 2020, with the pre-game show starting at 7pm Eastern/6pm Central and opening faceoff at 7:30pm Eastern/6:30pm Central.
AJ Mleczko will be in the broadcast booth with Scott, while Kendall Coyne Schofield will be at ice level as the “Inside the Glass” analyst.
Canadian Jennifer Botterill, who was Mleczko’s teammate at Harvard University in 1999 and is Mleczko’s colleague on New York Islanders regional telecasts on New York-based regional sports network MSG+, will be the studio analyst with host Kathryn Tappen.
Flood has assigned an all-female production crew lead by Producer Rene Hatlelid and Director Lisa Seltzer.
Flood credited Associate Producer Kaitlin Urka with reviving the all-female NHL broadcast idea, which was first implemented by Canadian French-language all sports TV network Le Réseau des Sports (RDS) on Friday, March 7, 2008 with Claudine Douville (play-by-play) and Danièle Sauvageau (game analyst) calling the New Jersey Devils vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL game off monitor from the studio of RDS in Montréal, Hélène Pelletier (host) and France St-Louis (studio analyst) in the studio, and correspondent Chantal MacHabée reporting from Staples Center in Los Angeles in preparation for the Los Angeles Kings vs Montréal Canadiens NHL game the next day.
From left to right: France St-Louis, Chantal MacHabée and Claudine Douville posed for this publicity photo for Canadian French-language all-sports pay TV network Le Réseau des Sports (RDS) to promote the 1st ever all-female TV broadcast team for a live major men’s professional team sports contest on March 7, 2008. Courtesy RDS/Bell Media.
Kate Scott is no stranger to NBC Sports Group, as she has been the play-by-play announcer for Atlantic 10 Conference women’s college basketball on all-sports pay TV network NBCSN since 2018. Her last women’s basketball play-by-play assignment on NBCSN was the University of Massachusetts vs University of Richmond “field trip special” on Wednesday January 29 at 12noon ET.
Play-by-play announcer Kate Scott (left) and analyst Debbie Taylor opened the telecast of the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen vs Richmond University Spiders women’s college basketball game at Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts on January 29, 2020. Courtesy Atlantic 10 Conference/NBC Sports Group.
After that assignment with NBCSN, Scott hustled back to the San Francisco Bay Area to call play-by-play of her latest sport, men’s college basketball, as she is teaming up with former University of San Francisco men’s basketball head coach Dan Belluomini to call West Coast Conference (WCC) games in the San Francisco Bay Area for various television and Internet streaming outlets during the 2020 men’s college basketball season.
Saint Mary’s College of California Gaels vs University of Portland Pilots Men’s College Basketball game played at University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, California on January 30, 2020 as broadcast on free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television and Internet streaming video service Stadium. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Dan Belluomini. Courtesy West Coast Conference (WCC)/Stadium/Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
University of San Francisco Dons vs Gonzaga University Bulldogs Men’s College Basketball game played at War Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco, California on February 1, 2020 as broadcast on U.S. regional sports pay TV networks NBC Sports California and ROOT Sports Northwest. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Dan Belluomini. Courtesy West Coast Conference (WCC)/NBC Sports Group/AT&T Sports Networks, LLC.
Santa Clara University Broncos vs Loyola Marymount University Lions Men’s College Basketball game played at Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California on February 15, 2020 as broadcast on U.S. regional sports pay TV network NBC Sports Bay Area. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Dan Belluomini. Courtesy West Coast Conference (WCC)/NBC Sports Group.
In August 2016, Scott filled in as the radio play-by-play announcer for 2 NFL San Francisco 49ers pre-season games on KNBR-AM 680 when Bob Fitzgerald had to move over from radio to TV play-by-play to cover for Ted Robinson, who was on assignment in Rio de Janeiro with NBC Sports to call Olympic tennis. Scott is 1 of only 6 women to have called play-by-play of any NFL game [along with Gayle Sierens, Georgina Ruiz-Sandoval (in Spanish for ESPN Latin America in the early 2000s, off monitor from Bristol, Connecticut, prior to launch of ESPN Deportes in the US in February 2004), Beth Mowins, Hannah Storm, and Rebeca Landa (in Spanish for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America, off monitor from Mexico City)], and the only woman to do so on radio.
Scott spends time with Mowins, one of her many mentors, whenever Mowins has the opportunity to visit the San Francisco Bay Area for an assignment.
Sportscaster Beth Mowins was featured in Episode 5 of the “Unstoppable” documentary video series profiling women involved with the National Football League (NFL). The video, which also contain interviews with Oakland Raiders television analyst/former quarterback Rich Gannon and sportscaster Kate Scott, was shot in the San Francisco Bay Area on August 23-24, 2018 while Mowins was assigned by the Oakland Raiders syndicated television network to call television play-by-play of the Oakland Raiders vs Green Bay Packers NFL pre-season game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. Courtesy NFL/Oakland Raiders/Marriott International via Facebook.
Scott was assigned by PAC-12 Networks to call television play-by-play of American College Football for the first time in her career, when she called the Arizona vs Northern Arizona game for broadcast on regional sports network PAC-12 Arizona on September 2, 2017.
Play-by-play announcer Kate Scott’s call of the punt return for a touchdown by University of Arizona Wildcats punt returner Shun Brown during the 1st quarter of an American College Football game against Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona on September 2, 2017 as broadcast on U.S. regional sports pay TV PAC-12 Arizona. Play-by-play: Kate Scott. Analyst: Glenn Parker. Courtesy PAC-12 Conference.
In 2019, PAC-12 Networks assigned Scott to call 2 American College Football games from her alma-mater, the University of California at Berkeley a.k.a. “Cal”.
The California vs North Texas American College Football game played at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California on Saturday, September 14, 2019 as broadcast on U.S. regional sports network PAC-12 Bay Area. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Lincoln Kennedy. Courtesy PAC-12 Conference.
Highlights from the California vs Oregon State American College Football game played at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California on Saturday, October 18, 2019 as broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network PAC-12 Network. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Chad Brown. Sideline reporter: Samantha Peszek. Courtesy PAC-12 Conference.
Kate Scott has made no secret of her desire to call television play-by-play of FIFA Men’s World Cup USA/Canada/Mexico 2026 for FOX Sports (U.S.). ESPN/FOX Sports freelance play-by-play announcer Jenn Hildreth, whose primary sport is soccer, encouraged Scott to pursue that goal:
Sorry @katetscott, @jennhildreth and @LisaByington are ahead of you. Both are on FOX’s radar wrt World Cup soccer PxP. 1/2
— What’s Working Now (@workingnow88) August 16, 2017
Agreed! Seeing @jennhildreth & @LisaByington crush it just inspires me to keep dreaming! #WeRiseTogether
— Kate Scott (@katetscott) August 16, 2017
Kate Scott began her pursuit of that particular goal by making herself available to PAC-12 Networks to call play-by-play of men’s and women’s soccer beginning in August 2017.
Scott’s first ever college soccer play-by-play assignment took place at Edwards Stadium at the University of California at Berkeley on August 20, 2017, when she called the California Golden Bears vs Santa Clara University Broncos women’s college soccer match for PAC-12 Networks with analyst Aly Wagner:
University of California Golden Bears vs Santa Clara University Broncos Women’s College Soccer match played at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, California on Sunday, August 20, 2017 as broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network PAC-12 Network. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Aly Wagner. Courtesy PAC-12 Conference.
After Scottish play-by-play announcer Derek Rae, who calls international soccer as well as the NFL for Amazon Prime Video, was able to obtain the video and review Scott’s soccer play-by-play commentary work, I understand that Rae encouraged Scott to continue calling soccer play-by-play and he began offering her constructive criticism and advice.
Derek Rae has a long track record over the past 30 years of mentoring his match analyst partners, especially women in recent years as they gain acceptance in calling men’s soccer matches in addition to women’s matches. Kate Scott is believed to be the first female sports television play-by-play announcer Rae is actively mentoring.
Two calls by Kate Scott from the last two college soccer matches she called, a Men’s Round of 32 and a Women’s Round of 16 NCAA Division I soccer championship tournament matches played as a doubleheader at Stanford University on November 24, 2019, went viral.
More Macario Magic! Kate Scott’s call of this GOLAZO by Stanford University Cardinal Brazil-born forward Catarina Macario (USA) at the 30th minute of this NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship Round of 16 match against Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California on Sunday November 24, 2019 as broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay TV network PAC-12 Network. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Christopher Sullivan. Courtesy NCAA/PAC-12 Networks.
Are you kidding me! Kate Scott’s call of the 4th penalty save by Stanford University Cardinal goalkeeper Andrew Thomas (ENG) during the penalty shootout of this NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship Soccer Round of 32 match against Seattle University Redhawks at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California on Sunday November 24, 2019 as broadcast on regional sports network PAC-12 Bay Area. Play-by-play announcer: Kate Scott. Analyst: Christopher Sullivan. Courtesy NCAA/PAC-12 Networks.
February 17, 2020 Update #2 (with corrections at 2pm Eastern Time):
Will NBC Sports English Premier League host Rebecca Lowe be able to save her job?
The February 16, 2020 edition of The Lowe Down on YouTube, featuring the thoughts and opinions of NBC Sports English Premier League studio host Rebecca Lowe (ENG) to questions asked by studio pundits Kyle Martino (USA) and Robbie Mustoe (ENG). Courtesy Premier League/NBC Sports Group.
NBC Sports English Premier League host Rebecca Lowe (ENG) invited her colleagues Robbie Mustoe (ENG) and Robbie Earle (JAM) with their spouses to her mansion in Northern California Gold Country on July 7, 2019. From left to right: Robbie Earle, Robbie Mustoe, Rebecca Lowe, Caroline Mustoe, Sandra Earle and Lowe’s husband, former United Soccer League (USL) Sacramento Republic FC Head Coach Paul Buckle (ENG). According to public records, Lowe purchased her mansion in September 2018 for $1.465 million. Photo courtesy Rebecca Lowe via Instagram. Video courtesy Thrive Real Estate/Glenn Rose Photography via Vimeo. Audio from “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” courtesy Rysher Television Program Enterprises. Theme music “Come With Me Now” composed by Bill Conti.
I had extensively documented the sequence of events involving NBC Sports English Premier League host Rebecca Lowe from August 2 through August 13, 2018 in a previous blog article:
Related: Is NBC Sports English Premier League host/presenter Rebecca Lowe a selfish diva?
Rebecca Lowe went on the record AGAINST all-female telecasts of men’s professional sports events in a podcast with Toronto-based sports media critic Richard Deitsch (of The Athletic and CJCL-AM “Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590”) released on August 7, 2018.
Lowe displayed frustration in her tone when she made those comments to Deitsch (which began after Deitsch’s question at the 30:38 mark of the podcast), who was caught by surprise by her comments.
Richard Deitsch: One thing, Rebecca, that I think will be a little bit of a ceiling breaker in soccer is when we see an all-women’s game broadcasting booth for a full season calling whether it’s MLS or some kind of global (men’s) game. What’s really great is we’ve obviously see Aly Wagner (the first female English-language television match analyst in the world to call Men’s World Cup matches when she called 13 matches for FOX Sports during FIFA World Cup Russia 2018) and Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play announcer of National Women’s Soccer League matches on Lifetime & ESPNEWS who is paired on most weekends with Wagner as the match analyst) and some other women who are getting pretty regular reps calling soccer in the booth, not just studio, not just on the sideline, but literally play-by-play and color. But that to me will be a ceiling-breaker when, and this is in no disrespect to (NBC Sports Premier League play-by-play announcer) Arlo (White) or anybody else, but when it’s two women actually calling let’s say a Premier League match-up on multiple weeks, that to me would be a pretty interesting ceiling.
Rebecca Lowe: It will, you are right, but we mustn’t push for it until it naturally occurs. Because if we are going to try to push for it in this moment, where we will have this whole weekend of women (on the weekend around International Women’s Day)…it must be a natural progression, it has to NOT be celebrated. In a funny way I don’t believe it should be celebrated. I don’t ever want to be perceived as a woman. I want to be perceived as a broadcaster. And I think that, you know, … we mustn’t just throw the men out. I mean, there is a place for a Robbie Earle who has played at … the Emirates against Arsenal. He can bring us something that I can’t bring you, and that Aly Wagner can’t bring you. As good as she (Wagner) is analyzing games, there is always going to be a place for somebody who has actually been on that field to play against this player or has been managed by this manager. We mustn’t lose sight of that. That’s want people want to hear, that kind of insight. Now, there is also a place for former women footballers who have also been in similar positions within a game wherever that may be in the world and have brilliant analytical minds, because they can teach us, and there is absolutely no reason why an Aly Wagner can’t do the Premier League. Absolutely, because she knows the game inside out. So that’s brilliant. Let’s bring in anybody with knowledge, anybody with insight, and anybody with experience. But we mustn’t push for it to happen. It has to be organic.
Lowe’s frustration was a result of an email I sent on August 2, 2018 to NBC Sports Group Coordinating Producer/Director Pierre Moossa, suggesting to Moossa to mimic the all-female broadcast team deployed by Televisa Deportes of Mexico for the final match of FIFA Men’s World Cup Russia on July 15, 2018 for an English Premier League telecast on NBCSN or NBC sometime in March each year.
Highlights from Final Match of FIFA Men’s World Cup Russia 2018 (France vs Croatia on July 15, 2018) as broadcast on Mexican free-to-air terrestrial broadcast TV network Televisa Canal 9 (El Nueve). Commentators from left to right: Iris Cisneros (play-by-play), Ana Caty Hernández (analysis), Gaby Fernández de Lara (play-by-play). Video courtesy FIFA/Televisa Deportes.
In my email to Pierre Moossa, which I cc: to Rebecca Lowe as a matter of courtesy, I suggested to Moossa that he should hire 42-year-old legendary British sportscaster Jacqui Oatley, the first woman to call television play-by-play commentary of an English Premier League match ON SITE and IN ENGLISH (but NOT the first woman overall regardless of language) on April 21, 2007 (for edited highlights presentation on British free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network BBC One) to call a Premier League match on NBC or NBCSN once each year, on or near International Women’s Day each year on March 8.
Sportscaster Jacqui Oatley (ENG) was featured in Episode 1 of the “Women In Football” documentary video series released in December 2018. Courtesy Twitter UK.
Highlights from the Fulham FC vs Blackburn Rovers FC English Premier League match from Craven Cottage in London, England on April 21, 2007 as aired during Match of the Day on British free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network BBC One. Play-by-play commentator: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy Premier League/British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Highlights from the Thailand vs Chile FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 Group F match from Roazhon Park in Rennes on June 20, 2019. Play-by-play commentator: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy FIFA.
Highlights from the Germany vs Sweden FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 Quarterfinal match from Roazhon Park in Rennes on June 29, 2019. Play-by-play commentator: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy FIFA.
On August 3, 2018 shortly after 12noon Eastern Time/9am Pacific Time, I received a telephone call from a mobile telephone with the New York City mobile telephone area code “917”, from NBC Sports Group Vice President of Global Physical Security Eddie Maldonado, who instructed me to refrain from sending any more emails to NBC Sports Group executives and on air talent.
The following conversation then took place:
Me: Is this an official cease and desist order?
Maldonado: Yes.
Me: Can you please contact your legal department to send me the cease and desist order IN WRITING?
Maldonado: That will not be necessary.
My “B.S.” detection meter redlined immediately.
I have been in the corporate physical security profession since 2017 and I have acquired extensive experience working in Global Security Operations Centers (GSOC), which are professional environments in which everyone was taught from the first day on the job to document EVERYTHING in writing.
The fact that Maldonado was either unwilling or unable to comply with my request for a written cease and desist order meant only one thing: his telephone call to me was NOT a result of an official order from an NBC Sports Group executive.
I can understand why Rebecca Lowe would resort to ordering Maldonado to telephone me in order to attempt to intimidate me from sending any more emails to Pierre Moossa, Sam Flood and other NBC Sports Group executives.
Because Jacqui Oatley is far more accomplished and far superior than Rebecca Lowe as a sports television broadcaster and journalist (specifically, Oatley has play-by-play commentary skills but Lowe does NOT), as a leader and champion of women in sports media (with her involvement in the Women in Football group in the U.K.) and as a person in general based on my limited observations of her activities online and on air, I can understand why Lowe would feel insecure and feel threatened by my email to Moossa to suggest hiring Oatley as an English Premier League play-by-play announcer for 1 English Premier League match on NBCSN or NBC each March.
Now that Oatley has her own Sunday morning talk show Sunday Supplement on British all-sports pay-TV station Sky Sports Premier League (she officially replaced journalist Neil Ashton on January 20, 2020), and she has apparently gone “all in” with Sky Sports (U.K.) in planning a potential International Women’s Day special English Premier League telecast on Monday, March 8, 2021, Jacqui Oatley has shown that she has never been and will never be a threat to Rebecca Lowe’s job security. (Note: Comcast Corporation owns both NBC Sports Group and Sky U.K.)
The February 16, 2020 10:00 London Time edition of Sunday Supplement on premium pay subscription TV networks Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Premier League in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Presenter: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy Sky UK.
On August 13, 2018, FOX Sports (U.S.) used Richard Deitsch to break the story of the first all-female broadcast team for a U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) telecast, as FOX Sports Senior Vice President of Production Judy Boyd and producer Shaw Brown would deploy play-by-play commentator Lisa Byington, match analyst/co-commentator Danielle Slaton, and touchline reporter Katie Witham to Audi Field in Washington, D.C. to broadcast the D.C. United vs New England Revolution MLS match on U.S. all-sports pay TV network FS1 (formerly FOX Sports 1) on Sunday, August 18, 2018.
Rebecca Lowe’s comments on that Richard Deitsch podcast released on August 7, 2018 would eventually come back to haunt her now that NBC Sports Group, in conjunction with the National Hockey League (NHL), will celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, 2020 with an all-female broadcast team for the Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues NHL game.
On February 11, 2020, Rebecca Lowe sensed that she was in trouble professionally and she attempted to generate public relations by doing this interview with Florida-based British blogger Christopher Harris, a man who had made poor business and editorial decisions and has made himself persona non grata at FOX Sports (U.S.), Major League Soccer (MLS) and the U.S. Soccer Federation for taking “editorial” positions against those organizations at every opportunity.
(Note: I had contributed to Harris’ blog World Soccer Talk in the past, but I had to discontinue after he began making enemies with the U.S. soccer industry political establishment in August 2017 with his “editorial” positions.)
In my opinion, that weak and ineffective attempt by Rebecca Lowe to generate public relations via Harris, who caters to a very narrow fringe of U.S. sports TV consumers who put the English Premier League above everything else, is not anywhere close to being enough to make any difference.
“If you don’t trust the singer, you won’t trust the song.” – Rogers Sportsnet (Canada) Hockey Night in Canada and Rogers Hometown Hockey host Ron MacLean.
Opening segment of Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) on April 6, 2019 with host Ron MacLean (CAN) and 85-year-old play-by-play commentator Bob Cole (CAN), who retired after 50 years as one of the voices of ice hockey on Canadian English-language television. The telecast aired across Canada on free-to-air terrestrial broadcast network Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and all-sports pay-TV network Rogers Sportsnet, and across the U.S. on pay-TV network NHL Network. Courtesy National Hockey League (NHL)/Rogers Media.
The bottom line for NBC Sports English Premier League studio host Rebecca Lowe is this: her sports television career is now in the hands of the National Hockey League (NHL), particularly NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (who earned his Law Degree from Cornell University) and his bosses, the 31-member NHL Board of Governors consisting of one owner’s representative from each of the 31 NHL clubs.
Lowe does not know any of these 32 powerful people and has no political backing from any of these 32 powerful people.
In my opinion, Commissioner Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors only care about the answer to this question: can they TRUST Rebecca Lowe to deliver NHL on NBC promos during upcoming Premier League Mornings studio shows on NBCSN or NBC, especially the promo regarding the NHL on NBCSN special International Women’s Day broadcast on March 8, 2020?
Unless Rebecca Lowe were to backtrack from the statements she made in the Richard Deitsch podcast released on August 7, 2018 and to tell the truth to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman why she made those statements, there is no possible way Bettman or anyone on the NHL Board of Governors can trust her.
If NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and/or the NHL Board of Governors were to conclude that they cannot trust Rebecca Lowe to deliver NHL on NBC programming promos during Premier League Mornings on NBCSN and NBC, then they have the right to demand NBC Sports Group officials, notably Sam Flood, to remove Rebecca Lowe from all on-air broadcasts, including but not limited to Premier League Mornings.
(Aside: When I operated my own agency in early 2009, I had to deal with an instance in which a television show one of my clients was voicing over had acquired a new sponsor which competed with the product she was endorsing. The new sponsor ordered the television network to remove her from the show because the new sponsor could not trust her to deliver the promotional advertisements during the show. Because I anticipated ahead of time that she could be removed at any moment, I had an escape plan ready for her so she was able to land a new hosting opportunity within a month which paid her twice as much as she was earning before.)
My opinion: in order for Rebecca Lowe to save her career, she has no choice but to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and explain to Bettman why she made those comments in the Richard Deitsch podcast released on August 7, 2018, and she will have to publicly apologize to Jacqui Oatley as a minimum.
(I will let Rebecca Lowe decide whether she owes anyone else, including me, an apology.)
